Odyssey
by EclipseMirror
Summary: There were a group of knights, known as the Castle Crashers, who saved the land from the evil wizard... This is a going-through of the plot in insane/ story mode with unrealistic/ realistic events and little tricks in the game... and more.
1. Prologue

**Hello, readers! EclipseMirror here, and this is my first fanfic. Technically, the Xbox is my brother's and he plays better than me… but I'm the one who comes up with crazy ideas.**

**This fanfic contains made-up combos, weapons, and (for now) one strong word. True facts will be in bold.**

Prologue

Usually on a day of sunshine like this, the little league of seven would be patrolling, guarding or fighting. Carrying out duties. However, there are always exceptions. The warrior in poisonous green turned to face the rest of the knights for the umpteenth time. "Remember, however informal this celebration is going to be, we have to stay respectful, alright?"

The orange knight, intolerable about the same message being thrown at him all the time, groaned with displeasure. "You said that, like, a hundred times already."

"Nope, four." The purple knight piped up, eyes gleaming. "And still counting."

The Castle Crashers, as they are often called, consists of elite knights that, unlike the King's normal gray guards, are trained to weld not just sword and bow skills but elemental magic as well.

The green knight and red knight founded the team, while the orange, blue knight, then later on the pink knight, purple knight and a normal grey knight joint up with them. To make a long story short, they were invited to a party celebrated in the kingdom's honor. _When they took half the morning to leave the palace in the first place._

"We're going to be late!" the pink knight yelped, trying to sort out the conflict. "Just get on with walking!"

The blue knight shook his head to try and cue the pink knight, but it was too late.

"Nobody asked for your opinion, gay." The red knight glared, then turned to his captain. "We really do have to get on with it, though."

"Oh well, he had it coming," the grey knight faced the blue. "Come on."

…

The guards at the drawbridge of the castle straightened as the group arrived, now discussing intensely on the best weapons. "Sir Harlequin." One stepped forwards with a scroll. "Sirs Lust, Flame, um…Blue, Cerise, Mauve and Slate?"

"Yes, of course." The pink knight, Cerise, gave a hi-five. "Now let us in."


	2. Chapter I

**This fanfiction contains made-up combos, weapons, and one strong word. True facts are in bold. Each chapter focuses on one different character in third-person. First person thoughts are in italics. ****I know I did not include the wizard stealing crystal scenario, it will come.**

* * *

**I. A Party Disrupted**

Lust was always…lusting for battle, but this time it came a bit too soon. The feast was awesome, filled with a rare relaxation among  
chatter and music. And despite what Harlequin had said, Flame jumped straight onto a table and danced away the moment eating ended, to the amusement of several grey soldiers and the frustration of their leader. Lust himself was practicing target shots with Blue when 'The Quest' unexpectedly started.

"Nice shot…" A bolt of ice missed the dummy completely, striking the ground and smothering stone in a cold glaze. Blue, of course, said nothing.

Lust blasted a streak of lightning straight through a bull's eye nearby. "…But you do need some practice."

Still no reply.

He felt a spark of anger, and was just about comment on Blue's silence when the door burst open and a critically wounded grey guard tumbled down the stairs, landing hard on the patch of ice, blood leaking out of an arrow wound in his back. The chatter ended as if on cue, and with it, the casualty.

"Barbari…e…evil wiza…'rincesses…" he managed to choke out a few words, then slumped to the side with glazed eyes. With the horror too sudden and the fact that knights already trained outside their comfort zones, there wasn't any screaming. Yet.

"Is he dead?" Cerise's quivering voice broke the lingering silence.

A few grey soldiers cautiously stepped forwards, gingerly checking the wounded soldier's status. "Dead," they grimaced, immediately unsheathing thin swords and marching outside without grieving, leaving only the Castle Crashers and the starting-to-panic citizens that had joint the party.

"What are we waiting for again?" Harlequin glared at Lust and the other stunned teammates. "Sorry, no more practice time, _this _is an emergency."

Blue, being a faster member, somehow slid upslope across sheets of self-conjured ice and broke through the door, the halls suddenly exploding with noise. But why make a mute person take the lead?Lust skidded through the opening, half-slipping across ice, meeting a frozen, bloodstained Throne Room.  
Dammit, Blue already left.

The King was yelling from his throne, which somehow seemed…different. "Barbarians are coming!"

The rest of the team, by now, have also managed the ice slope and rushed over too, Harlequin in the lead. "You heard it! Castle Crashers, GO!"

Lust raced around corridors both major and minor without thinking, scanning for signs of enemies and ignoring the badly mutated bodies of the grey knights. It was not until he reached the flaming citizen dwellings before one of those blasted barbarians were sighted, the latter immediately doubling over with paralysis before there was time for him to attack.

"Nice shot," Flame quoted, burning the half-alive opponent to a crisp. "But you do need some practice."

"Do NOT copy me." The fire licking the cottages seemed rather suspicious beside the knight of fire.

"Do NOT copy me," he taunted, rushing off to the platform in front. "Do N- whoa, shop's under attack."

They have reached the outermost of the kingdom, where everyone else, unfortunately, already were, armoury slightly splattered with redness. Barbarians streamed through the main entrance, managing a few strikes at a time. And despite everyone's skill, they were slowly gaining territory.

"For goodness' sake!" Mauve yelled, his enemy thrashing from a silver arrow shot in the leg. "How long did it take you to come over?"

Lust ignored the question and the self-scorn, plunging into a mass of barbarians and shocking them with all his might, the wild rush of excitement taking over his consciousness. Before he could snap out of the trance, the bundle of bodies were scattered over the floor, though even more barbarians were taking their places.  
Dissatisfaction.

"My, you're expertise seems to be solely on mass battling," Slate observed, giving up on wearing his opponent out and starting to slice with his sword instead.

Harlequin, who was trying to fight silently, suddenly shone an ominous mad gleam from his eyes: a recognized symbol for trouble with a capital T. "Well, I rage quit. Launching the nuclear bomb now, please grab oxygen masks. Oh, and try to go somewhere else if you must."

Nobody dared to argue back, running over to Mauve for supplies before leaping out through an archway, dragging the unfortunate shopkeeper along.

An exclusive, made-up skill of the toxic knight, Harlequin (who usually despised the use of magic) would unleash one immensely toxic  
bomb that will instantly wipe out anyone in the range of 100 metres without immunity and poison those around the range for another 50 metres. For a whole 10 minutes.

Minutes later, as the Weapon Frog came into sight, a 'whoosh' could be heard coming from the palace. Lust sighed, relieved that they were finally able to take cover before the explosion, but why couldn't he have an as powerful move?

Mauve, on the other hand, did not watch the show, taking off his horned helmet to reveal bushy hair and a weathered face. He settled down at his anvil, hammer and tongs ready.  
"While we wait for our leader, I suggest those who want their weapons upgraded, or receive new ones, to come over. If you're bored…well…check out Staggy, the Ark or just sit there."

Well, I don't have anything better to do anyway. Lust handed in his broad sword and switched to a comfortable practice foil "…as  
a poor substitute before the official version I'm going to make for you is ready. This thing here will lower a bit of defence, but increases magic and agility. 1% paralysis too."

"Thanks bro, just make sure the one I want will be ready soon."

"Sure. Hey, Blue, wanna modify that bow into a crossbow?"

Having nothing better to do, Lust lay down nearby and started mentally pairing his team members up against a variety of terrains. A rare brainwave suddenly crossed his mind. There was no need to put all seven people in unknown peril…

"How about this? Four people leave to fight, while the others supply and back-up?" By the time their leader has arrived, everyone was ready to go, with Flame even managing to find a small dragon in the Animal Ark. Everyone stared at Lust, and there was a good reason why. He hardly bothered about long-term plans. However, this thought was taken seriously.

"Nice idea! That would definitely help us in upcoming battles, with its back-up advantages."

"It could be fair for some, but unfair for others."

"They have stadiums to train in and a castle to protect and restore."

"The rest will have no experience on battling in the wild."

"Back-up. And I already fixed tracking devices on all armoury."

"How is that even possible in these ages?"

"It's decided then."

Blue cast an anxious glance; his message clear. Who?

"Well, me of course…" Harlequin started. "Lust, he's a powerful ally; Mauve?"

The blacksmith shook his head stubbornly. "No, I'm better off staying."

"Fine, you choose the rest, Lust."

He felt his confidence gutter and spark. "Um…Blue's about as smart and resourceful as Mauve…"

The pink, orange and grey knights tried to put on their best pleading eyes.

"That doesn't work against me. Flame, if you must. Just don't piss everyone off."

Harlequin nodded in agreement. "Sounds fair to me. That leaves Cerise and Slate for defence –it's okay, you may come later- well, looks like we'd be going now…how long has it been since the bomb?"

Blue held up ten fingers, then paused and held out two.

"Twelve minutes. Well, we've got our supplies now, Mauve's gizmos, and a few other things. No time to waste now… bye!"

The four set off towards the outer grounds of the palace; Lust's emotions jumbled.

This is going to be a big fight.

_The biggest he'll ever get._


	3. Chapter II

**This fanfiction contains made-up combos and weapons. True facts are in bold. Each chapter focuses on one different character in third-person. First person thoughts are in italics.**

**Because this serves to be a walkthrough, BOSS tactics will be somehow included.**

**How did I forget the princesses earlier on?**

* * *

II. Bad Goat

On the way back to the trounced area with the shopkeeper, who did not bother to go into the Blacksmith's Forge, Harl explained the happenings while they were partying. "Apparently that Evil Wizard rumoured to be stirring up trouble walked straight into the throne room, took the slab of crystal behind the throne and left. Then the Barbarian War started seconds later…"

Flame was never interested in Harl's speeches. To make up for it, he took his time petting his new animal orb. It was a stroke of luck, really.

He and Cerise had drifted into the Animal Ark while waiting for his sword's upgrading. While the pink knight was interested in a tabby kitten somehow stuck up in the roof, Flame had reached into the bin near the front of the Ark since he found coins before in the weirdest places (no mentions) and received a nip from the rascal within. The Vet explained that the creature just sat in the bin without coming out since the first day…

"Earth to Flame! You listening?"

He snapped out of his daydream to find that they have arrived at the platform before the shop, turning away from a faint smudge on the ground that almost made his stomach flip around. "Yeah?"

Suddenly a chorus of screams started up. The knights looked up the source; the King's four daughters…well, three of four daughters, Flame realised. The three princesses, as they were dragged away by a bulky barbarian and his friends, looked up in despair at the knights. "HELP!"

The fourth, dragged by her face, could do nothing but squirm her hat off. Flame's heart leapt to his throat upon seeing their treatment. And their clothing.

Green, red, blue, orange. Just like them. Wait, is this relevant?

The two faster members sprinted upwards, but then immediately collided with an invisible barrier, leading them to tumbling down the stairs and knocking over the other two. The damsels were swept away, and nothing could be done.

The shopkeeper was the first to recover, stuttering out his thanks as they reached his shop, handing over free potions to everyone, wishing them luck as the four knights stormed through the palace entrance. Just in time too, as the war has reached the gates by now. "Well then, time to battle."

There was no talk as waves of brown-clad wild men clashed against the Castle Crashers and the King's other grey knights, so Flame decided to lighten up the mood as he seared his nearest enemy. "You got burrrrned!"

He saw Harl and Lust roll eyes as they fought side by side, coating opponents in charged mercury.

"Oi, Blue! Want to try something similar?"

The answer turned out to be a 'yes' as intensely cold arrows soared through rings of fire, burning and freezing barbarians at the same time. As they pushed forward against the sight of dying grey knights, miraculously alive trees and oceans of people in the background, defending and dodging, the enemies thinned until the foursome reached a closed wooden gate.

Flame's first reaction was to burn it, but there was no need as a goat on wheels stripped past the barrier like it was paper, fire burning in its eyes.

"Well, well. First BOSS." Harl's stance tensed, his determination leaking out even more now. "Wood and metal… wood and…LOOK OUT!"

Flame was about to comment on what material 'look out' was, when he saw the ram starting to gather speed from the corner of his eye. The others immediately moved out of its way, and so he followed. But apparently it was too late, and a sharp pain suddenly issued from his foot.

Blue grimaced, then hearing the sound of a trigger pulled, looked up in horror, pointing at the sky.

"What?" Lust only had to glance up to start yelling too. "GRAB FLAME AND RUN!"

Barely a moment after the dragging, a bomb exploded where Flame originally was. "I'll be alright," he clenched his teeth and brought out the bottle of potion. "I'll tend to myself." The potion worked like a miracle, the shooting pain instantly fading when a little bit was poured onto the wound.

Suddenly, a mechanical but recognisable voice issued from his shoulder. "Testing, testing. Oh good, the microphone works. Flame, you were supposed to_ drink _the potion."

All other team members finished spamming the one barbarian that popped out of nowhere, then the vocal Castle Crashers shouted at the same time. "Mauve, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"It's what to expect from my trackers," the voice explained proudly. "GPS, communicator, video photographer."

"How's that even possible in this age?" Flame wondered, getting to his feet and dodging a blow from the bad goat.

"Not the time to ask right now, get ready for bomb launchings."

Indeed, seconds later, the bombs fell again, luckily all missing.

"You probably know the WM's attack patter by now. Good luck." There was a sound of static and Mauve's little surprise ended.

"WM? They called this thing Wim? Wimp?" Harl's sarcasm was once in stall again as all of them swung a blow at the becoming-taller goat, revealing a small huddle of barbarians inside controlling the massive machine. One minor guy jumped out, immediately frozen by a shaft of ice. So that's where they came from.

"Well." Lust's battle senses finally kicked in. "**While Wimp is charging, dodge then aim from behind. Preferably with magic or arrows.**" Blue nodded. "**When bombs are launching, move away but ultimately aim to hit it. When it opens up, hit both minions and machine at once.**"

That being said, Blue started aiming at the ram head-on, automatically being run down as it rushed over him.

"You idiot! What are you trying to achieve?" Harl barked, unleashing a green strike that left a part of the goat dripping. Flame glanced at the BOSS carefully. There were three cannons on the back, presumably where the bombs came from. His heart raced. _If…_

A bomb exited out of one of the cannons, then another and another. There was no time to lose. He jumped with all he could, landing on the side of the ram._ Leap of faith. _As the roof started lifting again, he managed to scrabble onto the back of the ram, hands searing as he held onto a cannon.

From up there, Flame saw Lust giving a facepalm as he zapped the many barbarians to give more time.

Blue, seeing Flame, simply walked. Harl was becoming agitated, slicing something that caused the lid to sharply slam back in.

Flame's hands were aching now, but he hugged the cannon tight as the ramming started again. Somehow, the air seemed cooler. The motor started humming. Then suddenly spluttered and died. Bewildered, he glanced around, to find that the ground was now a layer of whiteness. Blue had collapsed near a tree, showing an exhausted wink to Flame.

The wheels were stuck under a thick layer of ice!

And now the barbarians only had the opinion to shoot.

As the bombs loaded, Flame quickly threw a superheated ember into a cannon, enough to set off all explosives, then set the top of the ram on fire too. The lid of the ram erupted, sending him flying. _Ha, first BOSS down, thanks to me. _Then the wooden fence came up too fast. Pain blossomed through his back, then the world dissolved into blackness.

* * *

**Well, that took a long time.**


	4. Chapter III

**This fanfiction contains made-up combos and weapons. True, essential facts are in bold. Each chapter focuses on one different character in third-person. First person thoughts and in-story writing are in italics. **

**Because this serves to be a walkthrough, BOSS tactics will be somehow included.**

**Since school is starting, I may only have Sundays left to write, so expect a chapter every few weeks. Please review if you have a point to make :)****  
**

* * *

Chapter III: Team Brings Down A Giant

"That battle took ten minutes. Wow, even a starter I heard of before took seven in a BOSS fight." Mauve's voice mused annoyingly as Harlequin hurried over to check Flame's state. A concussion and a few serious burns, nothing more.

"Please stop using the microphone. It's incredibly out-of-era and annoying." Harlequin snarled, a cloud of poison coating him instinctively. The voice faded as a few straggling barbarians sprang out, choking as they breathed in. Lust and Blue have recovered now, hurrying over to finish them off. "What now?" the electricity has faded from Lust's eyes, leaving a dull boredom.

Harlequin considered the odds. They could stay here and party, or…_ what was he thinking?! _"We're all good enough to go on, right? No time to waste; search for fruit nearby. Force Flame the rest of his potion."

The order was carried out, and in a few minutes the Castle Crashers were ready to hit the road. Flame was a bit shaken up, but he recovered soon enough and unfortunately started inserting crack-ups in inappropriate situations.

"I bet that they feel like being slaughtered in their dreams," he said as Blue finished off the sleeping guards. "Incredibly real, that must be"

"Glad that your humour's back, now shut it before I replace you on the team." Sometimes there are priorities of being a leader.

It did not take very long for the team to cut through to another wooden gate. Apparently it took even shorter for rumours of a raging team to spread, since there was a note carved on the door.

_Dear nights:_

_We know about how you crashed War Mashine now. If you come over to stadum and fight, you get a girl. We will call off war and leaf. If no, yolo. Our best guy awaits you._

_Break this gate to begin._

Lust hacked the fence down carelessly, then caught Blue's sulking face. "What? They did have spelling mistakes."

"Anyway, we go." Harlequin strutted onto the wide wooden bridge, slicing the ambushers that were supposed to throw him off. Harlequin disliked the use of magic; it was too unreliable, too easy to be separated from the rest of the crowd, took too long to charge and recharge, unlike simple sword skills. However, toxic builds up inside him, causing him to fight madness in his head before he could unleash the poison all at once.

It took less than a minute for the team to clear the bridge, leaving them to stand wondering about the 'best guy' from behind the glaring, crudely decorated gate.

"I could hear a crowd from here!" Flame whispered excitedly. "Do you think that they are the attackers?"

"Hardly. I think it must be more of an arena." Lust replied, glancing at the gate suspiciously. "Do we charge in?"

"No. We get plans ready. Lust, get ready to analyse the opponent's weaknesses. Flame, provide distractions. Blue, we step up to test the opponent. Any better plans?" Nobody said a word, other than the increasingly louder_ 'Jump off the bridge!'_ in his head. "Well, Castle Crashers, let's go."

As if the gate was expecting the answer, it automatically drew upwards, revealing a cheering crowd of barbarians standing around the dusty floor. Looks like it is a death arena of some sort.

"Second BOSS battle, begin."

As soon as the Castle Crashers stepped into the arena, the crowd roared and the gate slid closed, giving the horrible effect that they were trapped inside. What drew Harlequin's attention was the four princesses bound to wooden poles, glancing worriedly at the knights other than the orange princess, who was bound by her face.

There was a thud that earned his attention, and on the other side of the arena where a similar door frowned, the meaty barbarian who had taken the damsels brushed himself and gave the biggest shout he could muster. From the corner of his eye, Harlequin saw Lust sparkling with electricity, while on the other side Blue fidgeted in a funny way and Orange started to chuckle. He himself was starting to become over-confident.

But that was when an even bigger boom shuddered from behind the gate, a crash, and the gate promptly squished the bulky barbarian. Revealing an even larger barbarian who immediately stalked out. Actually, 'even larger' and 'stalked' was an understatement. The giant barbarian towered over everyone else, a ball of muscle and angriness, the very ground shaking as he stomped into the arena. There was an even bigger cheer from the spectators as the bulk howled, then glared straight at the team.

"Watch out!" Harlequin ran to the side, then flinched as something swished past. _Really? He, flinch? _Dust swirled and cleared, revealing only the top of Flame's helmet and a panicking Dragonhead. Blue went through the trouble to pull him out, just to be spiked as metal shot out of the shield on the giant's back.

"Techniques?" Mauve's voice mused again. "I'd like to hear them."

"Um, wait." Lust dodged a blow. "**Dodge when possible, I think. And attack when possible.**"

"Specify."

Before Harlequin can have a closer listen, the BOSS was upon him, slamming his shield down with all his might. Reacting quickly, he dissolved the earth underfoot of the opponent into a green pool of sludge, then rolled aside as the latter thrashed in pain. There was a shout from Flame as the sludge rose as a crystalline column, rending the opponent powerless. Harlequin scrabbled to where the others fought, huffing in relief.

The audience booed, then one brave barbarian stood up and ran into the arena, chipping away at the green ice. Lust and Blue, who were both crackling with a fierce aura, ran up to pound both the BOSS and the new victim.

"They took the princesses," Flame sniffed. "I was too late, and only one is left now…" Indeed, now the only damsel that hung from the pole was the red princess, eyes wide in fear.

Before Harlequin could respond, there was a belch, as the toxic ice sprang apart, the bulky barbarian now spewing fire all over the place. Harlequin's heart skipped a beat as he saw Lust pushing Blue aside, but blasted full on himself. "Don't hurt my teammates!" he yelled, rushing at the BOSS for a few toxic strikes while the weakened red knight quickly assisted with a paralyzing shot.

_Wait, what's that in his hands?_ The magic in Harlequin's brain started to cloud over his consciousness. _Soda! Poison Soda! Take it!_

So he jumped with all his might, ignoring the roars and thrusts at him, scrabbling for the hand with the drink, prising with a green tipped sword, Mauve's and Lust's words a blur as he thudded to the ground again. The rest of the knights, anticipating what was going to happen, grabbed out their oxygen masks. Blue formed a weak icy barrier around the princess before freezing himself. All of this to the confusion of the crowd.

_Drink._

Faster than his mind could react, Harlequin sat up and gulped down the barbarian's whole can of soda. The toxic magic multiplied within him, accomplishing the 'overflow' within a matter of seconds, flowing away from the rest of his body and forming into one ball of deadly energy in his hand…

Then the nuclear bomb was thrown, exploding with a tremendous BOOM, and Harlequin was knocked straight into unconsciousness by the force of it.

Again.

He was the first to regain consciousness in the arena, if it could be called an arena anymore. The walls on all sides were corroding in green acid, as well as the two red gates on either side. Brown corpses littered the ground, along with the big fellow who took the bombing straight to the face. The other Castle Crashers did not endure to stay conscious through the explosion either, but at least they were still breathing. There was a clink as the last of Blue's ice barrier fell apart, revealing a very bewildered and frightened princess, whom had been the sole individual to see all the action. There was a groan as Lust and Flame recovered at the same time.

"Man, you really broke the record this time." Flame barely had time to mouth the words before slumping over again, upturning his stomach.

Lust was more subtle, but nevertheless unhappy. "We couldn't depend on that move all the time, you know. Especially when you get crazy through it."

"I know." Harlequin scolded his magic mentally, but not that there was any drop of it left, unlike the gentler bombing at the castle. This would probably take a few days to recover again. "But you should know I try to depend on melee."

Flame gave a weak grunt. "How's Blue?"

Notified to their frozen teammate, the trio drifted as fast as they could to the half-burnt knight within, who did not stir as they tapped the ice.

"Ooh, he's going to be mad at himself for at least a month now," Flame commented as he and his Dragonhead lit the block of ice on fire, immediately followed by a huge squish as somehow a huge treasure chest landed onto the already decomposing body of the BOSS. "Wait, is that even possible?"

"We'll worry about that fact later." The four knights bust the lock without another work, claiming the overflowing gold within. Lust aimed one accurate arrow at the red princess's ropes, freeing her. "Oh my…I'm so grateful…" she breathed, hugging all of them, her slender fingers wincing over Harlequin's still acidic armour. "Haven't introduced myself, right? Princess Alizarin, eldest of the siblings."

"Hang on." Flame piped. "If you're siblings, why do you all look so dissimilar?"

Harlequin snapped to attention, giving him a 'shut-up' glare, but Alizarin just giggled. "I took after my mother, while Carol took after my father. Tricky…had a birth defect and Min was adopted when she was really small."

"Was that necessary?" Mauve's voice gave a sigh. "Now you're wasting precious time. Princess, I'm the royal blacksmith who keeps an eye on these knights. You must return to the palace immediately."

"Sure," she winked. "Not after a reward though!"

Harlequin suddenly felt extremely self-conscious as she stepped into their midst. And abruptly turned to Lust. "I was watching you, you know…" her voice became abruptly softer. "Um…I have a few feelings to you…"

Lust tried to seem like he didn't care, but there was no use pretending anymore. "And I for you."

Harlequin turned away with an uncontrollable sneaky smirk as they kissed, then gave a half-murmur. Not everyone could move his right-hand man's heart. "Mauve? You got this on tape right?"

There was the sound of a facepalm from the microphone. "Well, yes."

* * *

**Now I don't even want to think about the to-be chapter on the final battle...if I get that far.**


	5. Chapter IV

**This fanfiction contains made-up combos and weapons. True, essential facts are in bold. Each chapter focuses on one different character in third-person. First person thoughts and in-story writing are in italics. While focusing on Blue, 'he' will refer to Blue only.**

**Well, is this insane mode or normal mode? It's both mixed with realism and fantasy. :P**

**Also, Flame may make references to other games/books/etc. Copyrights to them.**

Chapter IV: Stirring

He was, as always, trapped in the back of his own head, unable to do anything but provide the will of movement, his personality, and think. Not that enough memory comes over to him when he wants it to.

As soon as Lust was finished with Alizarin, everyone travelled back to the castle, where the war had cleared up. They were praised by the king, then there were more discussions. The next stage was Thieves' Forest, and therefore Flame was not allowed in as to prevent forest fires. Instead, Cerise offered to go instead, earning slight disapproval from Lust. But the plan was set, and orange was replaced with pink.

There was a rumour that people who went into the forest never came out in one piece unless they were the local thieves, but again there was a chance that it was false.

The team also visited the harbour, as there is a chance that the princesses will be taken to the 'other land'. However, the evil wizard has also scattered the three 'ocean antiques' across the mainland, and the team will have to search for it. Though not a great concern right now, since they will have to hurry and catch up to the kidnapped princesses.

The way to the forest was easy; it was basically all the thieves who were poor at archery, and there was even a riding-gator around, though Lust said to** leave it alone since the gator may prove more trouble than good**. Flame called it a 'Yoshi' from the microphone, earning a scorn from Harlequin.

As they went along, they suddenly came face-to-face with an auction: the face-bound princess to a dull-clad man who shrieked as they came charging in.

Was that a glint of weakness in Harlequin's eyes?

The rest of the princesses, the lovely blue and the green, were hastily carried away and the orange one was jetted away by the dull prince, leaving a sinking feeling of lateness and a few more enemies to fight.

When he finally reached the forest entrance, there was some sort of tension that only he realised. The others chattered uselessly along the way about recruiting teammates. Cerise tamed a cute owl, calling it Owly. Cerise also had the talent for archery; maybe he should give the pink knight some tips later.

The tension rose up higher as they entered the forest; obviously nobody else bothered about it, but to him it was torture. The one thief hiding around did not help by being killed.

Only the animals revealed that there was something stirring in the forest.

An owl they went by had soiled the undergrowth when the first booming footsteps were heard. The rest of the team, finally realising that something was wrong, took their time to sharpen their wits.

Charging through the forest while flicking off thieves trying to do their jobs, he spotted another animal, a deer, grazing calmly as they rushed past. He tensed as the booming footsteps sounded again, causing the deer to propel away with its poop.

Lust made a comment on the forest's name as they reached a river where a small seahorse snuggled over to Harlequin, but became silent as they reached weird stone formations in the middle of nowhere. There, of course, were a lot of questions. Who built it? Why was it there?

But there were a lot of other matters to take care of.

The site was overrun with black fuzzballs, which he somehow knew were called trolls. They were slightly tougher to kill than thieves, but nevertheless weak. **There was a small one in a cracked wall, which Cerise tamed after removing the wall with a bomb. Another pet.**

There were also runes all over the place, which Mauve suggested that it had something to do with the magic crystal that apparently had the power to either bring peace or chaos for a lifetime, as well as the ability to navigate to its rooting place or bring upon some destiny.

Or the evil wizard, who spent thousands of years to try and bring the kingdom to its knees.

A sharp pain forced its way through his skull.

_…__and the legendary warriors will conquer their greatest fear_

_But in so lose an ally in the fortress in the air…_

Before he could register the column he was staring at, Lust was tapping him on the shoulder for them to move on.

The tension spread on as even a bear reacted violently to the continuously nearing stomps. They found yet another thieves' camp, but something was definitely not right. Like how the thieves that all ran away instead of fighting. As he neared the abandoned mill, it became apparent that the monster the thieves all ran away from was a large troll which shivered out little ones.

Lust managed to turn the name of the hairball into a curse, 'mother of trolls', as it stumbled towards them, shredding off trolls. **Though sparing the large monster would gain more experience since it wouldn't actually attack**, everyone was frantic, and a moment later it crashed down as a skeleton with all the other trolls instantly dead as well, the clearing splattered with hair, ice shards and burns. As if on cue, the booming steps once again started up, closer and closer.

No discussion was needed as the four ran into the abandoned mill, a flock of other animals at their heels.

* * *

Anyway, this fanfiction is now on the Behemoth forums and renamed as Odyssey. So there is going to be bit of a format change.


	6. Chapter V

**This fanfiction contains made-up combos and weapons. True, essential facts are in bold. Each chapter focuses on one different character in third-person. First person thoughts and in-story writing are in italics. **

Chapter V: Cute Fuzzballs and Rivers

The sky was a wonderful lake blue and the leaves in the forest glistened like jade in the afternoon light. Except that the other team members did not note this when in danger, unlike Cerise, as they raced into the abandoned mill.

The stomping got louder and louder, heavier and heavier; every friend and cute creature froze as the noise stopped right outside. There was a moment of silence, then a huge claw, like the little black fuzzballs' but smelling of blood, probed into the room.

Cerise coughed nervously. "Anyone there?"

The response was a huge growl, and a bulging eyeball, followed by a fuzzy face, wormed its way inside. Cerise gave a flashing smile at the large monster, though on the inside he was in knots, bracing for the chaos.

"ME… IS… HUNGRY!"

Nobody had the time to think or rush up and fight; the easiest way to live right then was grabbing onto the four fleeing deer and riding them. Not even Lust dared to risk it, though he must have regretted the action a little by being the knight riding on the poop-propelled deer they encountered before.

The monster crashed past the doorway, then started thumping after the deer. Unfortunately, the place was more dangerous than they thought, and made more dangerous from the cute deer's blind panic. Along the way there were several logs that almost made Cerise and his new friend trip up. Lust, who was trying to quicken his deer by giving an extra electrical rocket boost, learnt that the hard way but fortunately got up as quickly. Harlequin was managing fine. Blue and his deer were**dangerously near to the troll, but that gave an advantage of preparation.** Cerise had a few glimpses of the troll before almost missing a doorway. Rather like a large black cat, but was slightly too scary with bloody tears and teeth. _The team of elite knights, chased by a fuzzy black cat._

"How much longer?" Lust, who was used to fighting back, started to clench his teeth as the pursuit paced over logs and doorways. Gee, who designed this mill in the first place?

"Not very." Cerise gave a little listen past the troll's thumps, a little trick he learnt before. "The ground sounds hollow now, and there's this rushing water and creaking noise that's slowly getting bigger."

Lust opened his mouth to retort, but then concentrated as another log sprang before their eyes.

Blue suddenly signaled something to Harlequin, who joint him near the back.

"Alright!" Harlequin called out. "Blue just sort of used a cold wind to check the surroundings:**five logs, middle doorway, three****logs, middle again** –whoa boy, careful about that wall- **then up, log, low, middle, low, log, middle, low, high, low**…"

"I lost track!"

"Wait, now in front of us: **low, high, low, middle**…" His voice raised to an excited pitch. "Hold on to your helmets!"

The deer's tracks thudded hollowly against the ground, nimbly avoiding a few more logs. There were mist rainbows ahead, revealing the sudden end coming up fast…

"We can't let the deer jump! It's too high!" Lust screeched.

"We have to. It's better than being that monster's next meal!" Harlequin retorted.

Cerise thought fast. There was no time to argue. Then the rushing came back into his ears again, seemingly twice as loud. "We're going to live! Rainbows, here I come!"

The monster burst out of the mill just as the four deer jumped. Cerise swore that his heart was still up there as the long troll roared in frustration.

Which was abruptly stopped as Cerise went plunging under.

A second later he resurfaced, laughing as the deer splashed back over to the river banks. "Bye, friends!"

His deer wagged its tail, then shook itself and disappeared into the undergrowth. The current in the river, however, was too forceful for  
him to swim to shore as well. It was late afternoon now, a peachy colour spreading over the blue sky... wait… what about the others?

"Report!" Harlequin burst out, somehow swimming in the water like he had done years of practice. Cerise knew by heart how it happened, winking to the little seahorse that was nuzzling the green knight.

Unfortunately, poor Lust did not do any sort of water training before. "Here!" he spluttered before sinking under again.

Cerise quickly stroked to his rescue. "I'm okay! Lust, take this…um…dead body to ride on for now."

"I don't need _your _help, gay."

Oh well, at least he's alive and riding.

Blue was cheating the rules, freezing a small patch of ice underneath him to form a surfboard. Cerise chuckled at the other knights' negative reaction before starting his own little entertainment by jumping from rock to rock, powered by a rainbow. He turned to his new Troll. "Stay by me, okay?"

The fuzzball nodded.

The little river ride was fairly easy at first; all there was to be done was to parkour, avoid river sharks, and convince the batties around that he did not taste like chocolate cake. "I wish that L was here…"

"Who's that? Don't tell me that you invited someone other than the barbarian you mentioned before to join our team?!" Harlequin did not enjoy how Cerise had befriended Viking after the four knights had left and allowing the barbarian to join the team. Even though he was a nice barbarian.

"Umm… while you guys were fighting the spawning fuzzball I befriended a thief in his camp…?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Harlequin paused to swat a bat out of the air, then continued. "We are supposed to be an elite group of KNIGHTS! We're supposed to be better than the King's other troops! Now you're just inviting enemies into our midst and diluting our values! What if they are spies or worse?" If he did not release a bomb at the barbarians' place, Cerise was sure that Harlequin would be polluting the water.

"I'm sure that they…"

"Look!" Lust interrupted, breaking everyone's concentration on going forwards with the current. Mint and Carolina were screaming their heads off as they were hurtled by, bounded onto logs. Cerise quickly landed onto a sharper rock, then aimed one cute little hamster in front of the smuggling thieves…

"CROAK!"

At the last second possible, a giant froggish creature jumped up, dragging him underwater. Cerise blindly shot a penguin at his attacker, releasing him from the pressure. Unfortunately, the bulk flew backwards and knocked Lust into the water, who in turn released a voltage that shocked everything in the whole river.

"By my word, what was that for!?" Harlequin spat. Poison burns in contact with an electric charge, or so Mauve had told Cerise.

"_His_ fault." The red knight glared daggers. "Now we've lost track of the next princesses…"

"It was the s...spinefrog…" Cerise felt guilt creep up into his stomach. He was meant to help! The electric shock did not help either, making him sound vulnerable.

There was a small crackle as he felt a coldness shoot through him from the neck down. The other two knights were trapped in ice blocks. Blue, surfing on his little platform again, put a finger to his mouth, then shot a range of ice shafts that hit something that croaked downstream and something that yelled nearby. Ow.

"What's wrong with all of you today?" Harlequin burst free of the ice block, stabbing another surfacing spinefrog.

"Disturbed, that's all." Lust also jumped out, reduced to shooting arrows. "I don't think that I could use electricity in a situation like this."

Cerise considered the odds, gave a second for his optimism to recover, then carefully twisted out of his ice, an inch from yet another spinefrog. "Um…hello? Can I just pass through please?"

The round creature bared its teeth. Not a good sign.

"Please…with batties on top?"

Nobody else noticed as the spinefrog leaped at Cerise, its maw wide open.


	7. Chapter VI

**This fanfiction contains made-up combos and weapons. True, essential facts are in bold. Each chapter focuses on one different character in third-person. First person thoughts and in-story writing are in italics.**

**Sorry it took such a long time! I had a bit of writer's block.**

* * *

Chapter VI: Literally a Catfish

"Great job." Flame grinned as the cannonball Slate shot knocked out the creature lunging at Cerise. As their four pioneers turned around, Slate waved with relief.

The King had decided that some knights should go out and assist the four knights by travelling along the river on S.S. Royal, while the rest of the troops would just stay, rest and defend Home Castle. Obviously, that included the other members of the Castle Crashers other than Mauve, who insisted on monitoring, and several new…enemies turned friends that needed to go through minor training.

"Entering the territory of the Tribe of the Blood Bears," Mauve informed at Slate's ear as Lust struggled on board. "Careful; they're extremely great at taming monsters."

"You're making this sound like a game," Flame groaned at starboard as he filled another cannonball with firedust. He was good at it.

"Life is a game. Now if you excuse yourselves, tell the deaf ones down there that something large is incoming."

Slate was about to question when the King gave a yelp. The water in front of everyone bubbled dangerously, and something growled. Down at the water, Blue had vainly started freezing up the section of river. Cerise looked straight at Slate, yelling something that sounds like 'kitty'.

"Pardon?!"

That was when the hulk of a cat flung itself out of the water, alien blue eyes glistening with fury, the mouth a wall of needle teeth. Needless to say, Slate was half shocked as it lurched upwards and growled. "MEOWRRRRRUURRRRPPPPP!"

The thing belched out a hairball about the size of a castle window, then was abruptly wretched backwards by some invisible force. As the three knights in the river dealt with it, Slate signalled to the people around him and dived down into the water.

It hit him like a slap in the face along with a thought: he never actually fought something so big before.

By the time he resurfaced, the cannon had been launched, and the cat- no, catfish- was squatting, dazed, while the other knights rammed up to it. There was also something weird sitting on its back; a white bear with a red mark on its head, tugging something with a deadly calmness then suddenly letting go. The catfish sprang forward, raking Harlequin's armour once then disappeared under the water.

Heart thumping, Slate swam to the front of the boat. "Hey, fellas…I'm here…"

Cerise gave a squeal. "Yay! I knew it!"

The other two members were not amused.

"Careful now…" Harlequin said darkly, climbing onto a nearby crate. "All your attention…"

The King gave a shout as the bear leapt out, claw raised. Instinctively, the knights avoided the blow as it sailed perfectly onto the huge white paw that popped out of nowhere, then plunged into the river's depth again.

Blue aimed ice bolts at the larger ripples, making the surface of the river a cold green slush.

The catfish suddenly roared upwards again, almost throwing Slate off track. As the hairball was launched, he focused hard on the bear's head.

Sure, Slate couldn't learn any sort of elemental magic -why was Harlequin so negative about it anyway? - but there was something else he managed to master instead.

Within moments, a fast arrow almost struck the bear, who somehow dodged at the last second.

The single shot took out more energy than he thought. By the time he realised that the catfish was attacking, it would have been too late if the block of ice had not suddenly shielded him.

From the microphone, Mauve made a sound of frustration. "Argh! I don't want to stay silent any longer! Figure out a plan, would you?"

"That's great." Lust somehow sounded…nervous? "**Cut the hairball, make that thing slam into the boat**- but what else is there?"

"Try stabbing." Mauve replied sarcastically.

"Because it's totally easy when you've slightly got aq-"

Slate tried to ignore all the commotion, focusing on attacking the cat with slashes while Blue assisted with missiles of ice, dodging as a quick blow from Flame stunned it.

This continued for some time, with others slowly joining in. Finally refreshed again, he focused once more on the bear. The arrow whistled by, just as the bear turned to look at him. _Oops, he knows I'm a threat…_The thought came too late, and a heavy paw pressed him under before he could raise his sword again..

Slate struggled for breath, noting the droplets of red now trickling into the water. And it wasn't his. At least he had hit something…

It was so calm now...

Darkness ate at his vision. He could not fight back, it was too futile…

And a bolt of energy suddenly ran through him like a knife. Panicking again, he managed to claw out of the water and take a large gulp of air. Oxygen was worth more than any quest in that moment.

The cat was floating aimlessly near him, shocked by the bolt of electric that Lust managed to shoot. "NOW!"

There was a pause, and all sorts of projectiles fired straight at the catfish's throat. The bear screamed as his beast choked and sank, leaving him vulnerable as Harlequin swam straight up and impaled him through the chest. "Well, that took a while. You're scared of water, Lust?"


	8. Chapter VII

**This fanfiction contains made-up combos and weapons. True, essential facts are in bold. Each chapter focuses on one different character in third-person. First person thoughts and in-story writing are in italics.**

**Time for a break from all that fighting! A few foreshadows...**

* * *

Chapter VII: Night Watch

The last rays of twilight were starting to shrivel away when the King finally ordered the ship to be tied to the banks. Mauve, through an unexplainable GPS system, led them to an abandoned thieves' camp in the undergrowth nearby.

Harlequin thought back with a shudder to the troll chase and volunteered to take the night watch before it was mentioned.

"Really?" Flame gave a cheeky smile as soon as he lit the campfire with Dragonhead. "If the leader falls asleep, we'll have to choose a new one."

Lust gave a sigh that summed up Harlequin's mood. "Obviously it's a night shift. I'll take the second half."

That being agreed upon, everyone who weren't knocking down or pitching tents sat around the fire and skewered food from the King's pack of supplies. Cerise had commanded Owly to search for fruit, so there was plenty of seconds around. Speaking of animal orbs, Seahorse really saved Harlequin's skin this time around.

"Camp tale?" Rats, he should have known that someone in particular would ask that.

One grey knight laughed. "Oh, I know a few good ones. There was this statue of a prince…"

Prince. How he hated that word. For half his life, it was all labour and darkness. And it was all the Prince's fault. Harlequin zoned out for the talks, debating on what they could do for the next day.

Surely it had to be the bears…they couldn't all go forward at once; maybe the four-scouter plan would still be useful in this situation. Lust was perfect for creating battle plans on the spot. Even though it was hard to admit, Cerise was good with animals and making friends. Himself, of course. That leaves Blue and Flame. Harlequin was tempted to take Blue again, but Flame has been left out for long enough…

"Hey Harlequin, why are you called Harlequin?"

The question snapped him back to attention. All faces were looking at his way expectedly.

"Why would you ask that, Slate?"

"Well, a harlequin is a jester; am I right?"

"Wow, your name is 'jester'?" Flame interrupted triumphantly. A round of laughter erupted from the knights. "All hail the jester!"

Harlequin usually avoided Flame's magic, but this time around it seemed like he could not dodge the burn to the face. "It's also a shade of green and a cobra, okay?" he tried in vain to glare at Slate, Flame and the King. Why did he get the old man to rename him in the first place?

Blue saved his face by pointing an ice arrow at the sky.

"Right, the moon's been up for a long time now." Lust translated, catching Harlequin's eye. "Time to recharge for tomorrow."

On cue, the crowd of helmets dissolved, leaving Harlequin alone with the stars.

Since his magic was still recovering, he had a few days to actually act like a proper and normal leader, thinking and reflecting.

He always made sure that he was the role model for all the other knights, so there were no surprises when he replaced Lust as the captain of the guards. That glare received was Harlequin's first introduction to him.

A few weeks later, Lust was struck by lightning.

A rustle snapped Harlequin back to attention, but it was only the little Troll orb scuffling around in the dirt. _Drifting off now, are we? _He scolded mentally.

There was nothing to beware of though… just Owly hooting, Troll wandering, a few crickets chirping, and the flow of the river.

Someone talking.

Immediately alert again, he sprinted to the source of the unnatural noise. It was too faint to decipher the words; too faint to even distinguish who was talking, but as he stepped right outside one of the more airtight tents, the talking ultimately stopped.

"Show yourself."

No answer.

He gently zipped open the tent with his sword ready, a cloud of ice immediately blooming through the gap. Blue was a frozen statue in the middle of the sealed space, still wearing full armour.

For a moment, there seemed to be a flicker in the shadows, a shine of red, but looking carefully there was absolutely nothing.

Harlequin knew the way all his teammates slept, and especially how Blue usually just froze himself up. However, logic says that nobody could talk while frozen, much less someone mute. He shook his head, zipped up the tent again and turned around, seeing a dark-haired teenager nearby.

Before Harlequin could catch his breath, the teenager flickered and vanished.

As Harlequin was going to yell the warning , a tent sizzled and lit up brightly.

He burst in, just in time to witness Lust's rage. "What the heck are you doing in here, gay?!"

The still-sizzling victim blinked, bright yellow eyes suddenly wide open. "I'm sorry Lust! I'm really, really sorry…I …I had a lot of stress…and I tend to sleepwalk when stressed…"

"WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE MY TENT THEN!?"

"I…I…"

"That's enough, you two," Harlequin interrupted in an urgent whisper. "You're going to wake everyone! Cerise, get back to your tent. Lust, it's time for your watch anyway."

As the knight of love trudged away, Harlequin muttered to Lust. "He knows shadow transport. That's how he unintentionally got in."

Lust stared back in alarm. "You're kidding me! Only…"

"We'll discuss this later. Go and take the watch."

As Harlequin stared blankly at the ceiling of his tent, the self-discussion started up again. Maybe he shouldn't bring Cerise after all. His eyes skimmed over a small brand on the cloth: _inDustral. Inc_

He gave an ironic laugh. Sometimes nothing could escape the past.


	9. Chapter VIII

Chapter VIII: Blood, Fur and Claws

The boat docked up at the edge of the other side of the river early the next day. The clouds were greyer than the guards, and, unfortunately, carried the sense of electricity. Lust was still furious about Cerise's little incident last night, and thinking about an encounter with his biggest bane frustrated him still.

The King prepared his other troops, while the Castle Crashers were assigned to scout and clear the road up ahead.

"Edge of bear territory, careful," Mauve's voice warned. Well, he just couldn't shut up.

Cerise chipped in. "They're the Tribe of the Bloody Bears. Or just the BloodClaws. They're reeeally good at taming wild beasts and orbs, so I kinda admire them. They're also very territorial…"

Flame gave a cheer. "So, we're crashing a whole team of monsters today? Awesome!"

Those three could form a separate group.

Now back to the battle tactics.

Lust breathed out and did a few quick trial-and-errors in his head. "We could go all out for this."

"Who?"

"You, Blue, Slate, and me. Cerise can come if he wants."

"Whaat?!" Flame protested. "What about me? I was out for long enough!"

"Rain is heavy in the air. And your second strength is defense, so that's not very useful."

"Sometimes defense is needed a lot!"

Harlequin interrupted with a cough. "I think we should all come. We don't know what we're up against."

"What about the as-little-people-as-possible rule?"

"Not for today."

Blue gave a nudge, and sprinted off. Without further argument, Lust and the others followed.

The camp for the bears was marked by flags of -obviously- bloody bear paws. The camp itself was relatively empty and strung up with a few tents. Four seemingly dead bears flopped around a pathetic campfire in the middle, eyes wide open.

"Do not," Harlequin hissed under his breath. "I repeat, do not make a sound. Walk around slowly."

The irony was that three bears immediately rolled over and sprang up, weapons in hand. The fourth rolled back to sleep.

"What did you just say, Harl?"

"Plan B!"

Lust grinned under his helmet, springing forward with a blast of electricity. Not soon, the four bears were not just playing dead.

Looking around, it did not take long to realise that only Blue and Flame had got into the fight as well. Cerise had crawled over to a small hole in a rock with a signpost beside it and trying to coax something out.

"Castle Crashers? Let's get on with it."

In the grassy fields across the camp, they were attacked by yet another squad of bears who squabbled furiously, throwing snowballs, batting and biting whenever they can, animal orbs flying around and assisting. The air seemed to be getting heavier by the second, and even a moron could figure out that the weather was not going to turn out great. The promising arrival of a thunderstorm did not help.

It did not take long to clear out all the bears, but it did leave him a few bites wounds and scratches here and there.

There was a bear sitting on a flat edge of stone as they advanced forwards, but something was a little different this time. The posture, the piercing eyes, the flag on his back; upon seeing Lust and the others, he narrowed his beady eyes, jumped down and started prancing. Lust gave a half-laugh at the silly movements, but it choked in his throat as a fat drop of rain fell onto his armour with a clink.

It was raining.

There was a rumble as a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky. Lust could feel his magic starting to go haywire, but he gritted his teeth and directed it towards the responsible bear.

There was a fizzle as a small white shape blocked the energy off, joining the opponent with a fierce bleat. A few other bears, seeing the commotion, hopped into a circle around them.

For a moment, the two teams stood glaring at each other. Then without warning, Slate rushed forwards, breaking the tension into a hands-on fight.

Lust quickly got used to the overpowering electricity he gained, using it to his advantage, shocking the less significant bears. He turned around just as his practice foil clashed with the flag bear's club.

"**Leader of the Bears**," Mauve informed. "**Uses tornado magic- try arrows against him. Oh, and watch out for…**"

Lust was knocked over with a sharp pain as the goat animal orb burrowed straight into him. Free to go again, the leader dodged a shard of ice and swirled into a tornado.

Lust quickly jumped up again in full battle condition, electrifying as many bears as he can and throwing a bolt at the tornado that was about to demolish Flame.

"**Attack the leader!**" he yelled. "The others would leave without him!"

"Dodge Rammy," Cerise added. "**His ramming only goes a certain distance.**"

Lust rolled his eyes and immediately set to work on archery with Blue.

Flame was going nowhere with fire in the rain and set to defending and distracting instead. The others ran around fighting off other bears while Harlequin attempted close combat.

_Dodge-strike-dodge-dodge-hit-strike-shield-strike… _

It was rather intense, especially when the placement of arrows needed concentration.

So when the lightning struck him again, it was so sudden that, like the first time, he did not have time to dodge.

A metallic smell tickled his nose; his hair stood up on end. Blue stepped back, dull eyes wide.

Before Lust could spare some attention to put two and two together, his vision whitened out.

Time seemed to slow down.

Unlike the first time, this time there was no searing pain, no slow-fade to black. In fact, there was nothing but frustration, exasperation and a power overload. Just a strong electric discharge that left with his next arrow and hit, bulls-eye, into the bear's bloody brand.

The whole process was so quick that nobody reacted until the bear slumped to the ground;

Rammy bleated as Harlequin finished the opponent by slicing the head clean off.

"Look at that improvement!" Flame and Slate chorused, then immediately snapped around to face each other. "JINX!"

Lust smiled triumphantly under his helmet in spite of how the team members were not being serious. "Yep, definitely getting better at controlling now. Now we advance forwards."

A clap of thunder shook the earth, as if agreeing.

"Wait!" Cerise picked up Rammy and handed him over to Harlequin. "Try this little pal instead of Seahorse. He's tough and tenant, just like you!"

Harlequin gave a nod of acknowledgement before calling out "The leader is dead but the hornet's nest has been kicked! Keep your defenses up!"

Almost on cue, two bulky bears whirled in with several smaller ones.

"What on earth did you say that for?!"

Lust shut the noise off, aiming bolts of lightning at every foe in sight. It did not take very long for the scuffle to literally die off, but the tall grass field seemed exceptionally squidgy, and it took forever to reach and clamber onto a tufty hill ledge tussled by the biting rain which, according to Mauve, leads to a bat cave…

…Coming face to face with the thieves carrying the remaining two princesses.

Both damsels gasped in relief as they saw the knights.

Lust sprang forwards, ready to electrify the thieves, but suddenly rebounded as a dull pain smashed into his side.

He dimly saw the dagger boomerang back to a lumbering shape wearing a thick cloak, stomping out of the dark mouth of a cave, followed by a tall, cloaked icy figure with red eyes.

The tall figure narrowed his eyes. A creeping cold, not unlike Blue's usual tricks, seeped into Lust's ankles. The two snatched up the unbound princesses—

"NO! Min! Carol!" Cerise yelped.

Harlequin burst free of his ice shackles, but Lust knew was too late.

The one-eyed giant plunged back into the cave while the tall figure, jeering, disappeared into thin air with a puff of icy dust.


End file.
